Monday, August 8, 2016

From Australia-Over the last few decades, the number of people who answer the census question about religion with 'no religion' or 'not specified' has been on the rise. But just because someone doesn't subscribe to organised religion doesn't mean they're not spiritual.

Unlike in France and the United States, the Australian census contains a question about religion. This year, for the first time, 'no religion' will be the first option.This is because the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) thinks no religion will receive the largest response—the boxes are organised in descending order from the largest to smallest group.

A century ago, Anglicans were the largest group at over 40 per cent of the population. By 2011 they'd declined to 17 per cent, while Catholics were about 25 per cent and the Uniting Church on 5 per cent. Muslims were 2.2 per cent, Buddhists 2.5 per cent, Greek Orthodox 1.8 per cent, and Hindus 1.3 per cent. Christians altogether were 61 per cent.